Fixing a leaky spa

[D'Animal]

How did you ever live without one for so long? LOL

Glad you got it fixed.

WEll, I threw some of the Fix-a-leak stuff in the spa.

Whammo, no more leak.

For $12.00, I'll buy a case and put another bottle in every time I drain the damn thing if necessary. God it's nice to have it back

 

[FJ40_owner]

I have a Teldyne Telstar natural gas heater that I plan on using for my spa and pool. If I cannot easily convert it to Propane I'll sell it to any Mudder for a song and shipping.

I am attempting to determine what it does, BTU, min GPM, min gas pressure etc.
Teledyne Telstar, #TGS-50

The spa is a 220 VAC model. I picked up a combo dual GFI, disconnect and extra 120 VAC breaker all in a Nema 4 enclosure at HD for less than $200.

 

[JohnnyC]

Mace every time you change the water youll need to add more fix-a-leak...i did that to my inlaws and it worked.

he (father inlaw) however never put more in each time he changed the water and it leaked again.

i lifed it on its side ripped into the foam...found the leak at a seam...as well as from a line...fixed it with some sealer and a hose clamp on the line. It lasted 5 more years.

started leaking again ....ohhh well lasted for awhile...they just gave it away last year. not all that bad it lasted 15 years.

 

[Mace]

Mace every time you change the water youll need to add more fix-a-leak...i did that to my inlaws and it worked.

he (father inlaw) however never put more in each time he changed the water and it leaked again.

i lifed it on its side ripped into the foam...found the leak at a seam...as well as from a line...fixed it with some sealer and a hose clamp on the line. It lasted 5 more years.

started leaking again ....ohhh well lasted for awhile...they just gave it away last year. not all that bad it lasted 15 years.

$12.99 for a bottle, I do not have a single problem adding more three or four times a year.

That's what, $50.00??

I'll just not drink a bottle of scotch.. once..

 

[Mace]

I picked up a combo dual GFI, disconnect and extra 120 VAC breaker all in a Nema 4 enclosure at HD for less than $200.

I still need to do this.
Any better choices out there for a 220V setup? The Spa requires a 20 (I think) amp 110V line and a 30 amp 220V line set up in a box.

 

[Mace]

Update, I picked up a 220v subpanel and all (I think) of the wire required to run it.

The problem is that I just noticed that the wiring for the subpanel that I picked up and the wiring for the specific spa I have are slightly different.

From the main panel to the subpanel is a 4 wire circuit:
+,+, neutral, and ground

The recommended circuit for the Spa (Old school Tiger river Khyber Model LD is a 5 wire circuit:
+,+, neutral, ground, and solid bond.

I guess my question is that the ground goes to the same place on the circuit panel as the bond does. Why is the bond necessary? I'll pull it if I have to but it really seems a bit on the redundant side.

 

[splitshot]

Update, I picked up a 220v subpanel and all (I think) of the wire required to run it.

The problem is that I just noticed that the wiring for the subpanel that I picked up and the wiring for the specific spa I have are slightly different.

From the main panel to the subpanel is a 4 wire circuit:
+,+, neutral, and ground

The recommended circuit for the Spa (Old school Tiger river Khyber Model LD is a 5 wire circuit:
+,+, neutral, ground, and solid bond.

I guess my question is that the ground goes to the same place on the circuit panel as the bond does. Why is the bond necessary? I'll pull it if I have to but it really seems a bit on the redundant side.

Redundancy, is NEC's guidline if there is ever a ground failure.

 

[Mace]

Can I just run an earth ground under the spa? Or is it important to run to the power box?

 

[splitshot]

Back in the day, we were good with a ground rod and some #4 bare bonding wire.

 

[Brentbba]

Mace - what brand was the fix a leak you used. I have a 12 year old spa. I've fixed two leaks from split flexible PVC piping. As mentioned by the tech guys on the thread, that stuff gets brittle over time from the heat and chemicals and it just split where it used to flex!

I now have a very tiny lead somewhere that isn't where the other leaks have been. those have fortunately both been very near to where the pumps are and I had to 'scoop out' very little of the blown on insulation to fix them.

I nee to take off a side panel to search one more place for the leak. I really don't want to resort to the fix a leak stuff if I don't have to. I'm only loosing about 1/2 inch of water a month, so it's not a bad leak. I just don't want it to get worse!

BTW - It's a Cal Spa Sundance model (now owned by Jacuzzi here in SoCal).

 

[Mace]

I dont know that it really matters much. When I get home I'll post a link to the stuff I currently have.

 

[se2000]

I was amused reading this thread. This past summer, there was a spa for sale saying it had a small leak. I went to check it out and it sounded fishey as they would not turn the breaker on for more than a second to show the panel worked. Plus it was in a tough location to get out. Plus it was 10 years old.
I got a call a week later that if I got it out of there by the weekend, it was mine for free.
Well I got it and brought it home. Filled it up and found some leaks, fixed those and refilled, found more leaks. And again. Then when it stopped, I hooked up power and the main motor was bad and found another leak when running the secondary pump.
New motor, hopeful but no, 2 more leaks. A total of 10. I had this think up on blocks in the driveway while I was working on it. But it meant I could crawl under it and find the leaks.
So for under $300, I've got a nice spa. Well a little more as the cover is weathering.
It too was foamed and I found it not hard to chip off the foam. An old dull wood chisel for big pieces and some pvc cleaner to get the pipes shiny white.
My pipes were not brittle at all. Maybe they took care of it , maybe because it was in the Norheast and not subject to so much heat.

As far as the bonding, I thought that it was only needed if there was conductive surface near the tub. As mine which will be going on aluminum decking as soon as I get it laid.
So 4 wire should be sufficient. Like to see a manual that says otherwise.